1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication system utilizing high speed communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a network connection control method and apparatus of a mobile terminal that mitigates resource shortages and meets the high-speed service requirements of subscribers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile communication systems have been developed previously to provide the subscribers with voice communication services while in motion, particularly when away from home. With the advancement of communication technologies, the art of mobile communications has evolved to support high speed data communication services as well as the standard voice communication services. However, there is a long-felt need for a more sophisticated mobile communication system than known heretofore in order to mitigate resource shortages and meet the growing high-speed service requirements of the subscribers who own or operate mobile communication terminals.
Meanwhile, due to the widespread popularity of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), WLAN access has become one of the basic functions included in recent portable devices including smartphones, laptop computers, MP3 players, Personal Multimedia Players (PMP), etc. This WLAN capability allows the users to access the Internet with a WLAN-enabled portable device anytime virtually anywhere.
Typically, a WLAN is implemented with an Access Point (AP) which allows access to the Internet. However, a problem arises where a plurality APs which are not connected and only of which Radio Frequencies are activated. In such an environment, the mobile terminal is likely to be connected to one of the APs that are not coupled to the Internet, and thus to be operating in standby mode unnecessarily for long periods of time.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional communication environment where a mobile terminal accesses the Internet via an AP or base station.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional mobile terminal 100 has a connection preference policy with which the mobile terminal selects a network to access the Internet. Typically, the connection preference policy is designed, such that the stronger the received signal strength is and the cheaper the connection cost is, the higher the connection priority. Accordingly, it is likely that the WLAN network is assigned the higher connection priority as compared to the cellular network. Once the WLAN is selected for the Internet Access, the mobile terminal 100 attempts connection to the AP with the highest Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) first among the discovered APs.
However, a problem occurs because the conventional connection preference policy is configured such that the connection priority is determined based on the received signal strength without consideration of whether there is actual data traffic from the Internet. Suppose that the AP 130 is active but not connected to the Internet and the mobile terminal 100 approaches the AP 130. The mobile terminal 100 makes a connection to the AP 130 with the highest RSSI and waits for receiving traffic. However, since the AP 130 is not connected to the Internet 150, no traffic is received such that the user cannot access the Internet normally.
There is therefore a need to release quickly the mobile terminal's connection to an AP that is not coupled to the Internet.